Heating apparatus for elongate material

ABSTRACT

A heating apparatus including a panel for receiving heat from a heat source and radiating received heat to a path of movement of material to be heated, the panel including strips of fibrous matting disposed in face-to-face relation with the fibers of the matting generally parallel to the faces of the strips, and tie means extending through and securing together the strips.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Lyle E. McCoy 533 North Whitehall Road, Norristown, Pa. 19401 [2i] Appl. No. 876,832

[22] Filed Nov. 14, 1969 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [54] HEATING APPARATUS FOR ELONGATE MATERIAL 7 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

52 1 us. Cl 263/3, 34/23l [51] Int. Cl F27b 9/28 [50] Field of Search 263/3, 50;

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,995,675 3/1935 Furbush 34/222 2,968,894 1/1961 Hess 263/3X 3,421,746 l/l969 McCoy 263/3 Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague AnorneyRobert K. Youtie ABSTRACT: A heating apparatus including a panel for receiving heat from a heat source and radiating received heat to a path of movement of material to be heated, the panel including strips of fibrous matting disposed in face-to-face relation with the fibers of the matting generally parallel to the faces of the strips, and tie means extending through and securing together the strips.

PATENTEU JUN] 51911 mg; r

HEATING APPARATUS FOR ELONGATE MATERIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION While the apparatus of the present invention has been primarily developed and employed for use in textile heating and drying, and specifically as predrying apparatus, as known in the textile trade, it is appreciated that the device of the present invention is capable of many varied applications, all of which are intended to be comprehended herein.

The apparatus of the instant invention is in the same general category as that disclosed in my prior US. Pat. No. 3,421,746, and the invention herein constitutes an improvement over the apparatus of said patent.

While heating and drying, specifically the predrying function of the apparatus of said patent performed admirably, the heat-receiving and -radiating mats or batts 40 of the panels 30 were found lacking in resistance to handling. That is, the matting of ceramic fibers, such as aluminum-silicate wool, were found lacking in durability, the fibers thereof tending to flake or separate in planes generally parallel to the face of the matting.

More specifically, the ceramic matting is composed of relatively short, nonwoven fibers which are disposed generally, or for the most part, parallel to the faces of the matting. For example, something on the order of 80 percent of the ceramic fibers of the matting are disposed approximately parallel to the faces of the matting, say 40 percent of the fibers extending longitudinally of the matting and another 40 percent of the fibers extending normal thereto or transverse of the matting. The remaining approximate 20 percent of the fibers may extend approximately normal to the faces of the matting, and consequently approximately normal to the first described 80 percent of the fibers. This construction of matting, while highly advantageous for its heat-receiving and -radiating characteristics, lacks tensile strength normal to the faces of the matting, so that the material of the matting tends to flake off or separate from the exposed matting face.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide a heating apparatus of the type described, and specifically a heat-receiving and -radiating panel for such apparatus, which effectively overcomes the difficulties mentioned above, serving to minimize or eliminate the tendency of panel matting to separate or flake, while permitting of ease of panel flexure as desired, without sacrifice of the desired thermodynamic characteristics.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a sectional elevational view showing a heating apparatus of the present invention, as employed in a predrying textile procedure.

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view similar to FIG. 1, but enlarged for clarity, and illustrating selected alternate positions ofa radiating panel.

FIG.3 is a partial perspective view showing the components of FIG. 2 and illustrating a further aspect of panel adjustment.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view similar to FIG. 3, greatly enlarged to facilitate understanding.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view similar to FIG. 2, but il- Iustrating a slightly modified panel construction of the instant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and especially to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, an overall apparatus of the present invention for heating or drying is generally designated I0 in FIG. I. The heating apparatus includes an enclosure or cabinet II which may have a bottom wall l2, a peripheral sidewall I3 upstanding from and extending about the bottom wall, and a top wall 14 spaced over the bottom wall and extending between the upper edges of the sidewall. The top wall may include a pair of openings 15 and 16 for the ingress and egress, respectively, of elongate material 17 moving in the direction of arrows 18. The material I7 may be of webtype and conveyed along its illustrated path, as passing over a roll 20 and downward through the cabinet opening 15 to a lower cabinet region for passage under a roll 21 and thence horizontally for passage under an additional roll 22 and thence vertically upwardly, as along the path 23 where predrying or heating takes place, as will appear more fully hereinafter. The

elongate material or web I7 passes along the path 23 upward and out through the cabinet opening 16 and over a roll 24 for movement to a further processing station.

Fixedly mounted by any suitable means in the cabinet 11 are one or more heat sources, such as burner pipes 25, 26, 27 and 28. The burner pipes 2528 may each be conventional, of the type known as ribbon burners, employing suitable conduit for receiving combustible gas. It will be apparent that the burner pipes 25 and 27 are located in vertically spaced relation adjacent to and on one side of the path 23, while the burner pipes 26 and 28 are located in adjacent spaced relation on the other side of the material path. Further, the lower burner pipes 25 and 26 may be located in horizontally spaced relation with respect to each other, as are the upper burner pipes 27 and 28. Thus the burner pipes 25-28 provide sources of heat adjacent to the path 23.

Along one side of the path 23, the left-hand side as seen in FIG. 1, are a pair of vertically spaced radiating panels 30 and 31, respectively adjacent to burners 25 and 27. A similar pair of vertically spaced radiating panels 32 and 33 are located on the other, rightward side of path 23, respectively adjacent to heat sources or burners 26 and 28. 1

Carried by the cabinet I] may be a plurality of depending support members 34 and 35 located behind, or leftward of the radiating panels 30 and 31, see FIG. 3. The support members 34 and 35 carry elongate, extensile and retractile mounting members 36 and 37, respectively mounting the panels 30 and 31 on the support members. As best seen in FIG. 3, the panel 30, which may be identical to the remaining panels, is advantageously formed of a flexible mat 40 suitably secured, as by securing means 39, to a flexible backing sheet 41. The mounting members 36 may each have one end articularly connected, as by a suitable connector 42, to the backside of backing sheet 41. In the illustrated embodiment there are three vertically spaced mounting members or threaded rods 36 carried by support member 34 and connected at one end to the panel 30, while an additional three vertically spaced mounting members or rods are carried by the support member 35 and connected adjacent to the other end of the panel. Connecting each mounting member or rod 36 to its adjacent sup port member 34 or 35 is an additional connector, as at 43. The mounting members or rods 36 may be externally threaded and passed in threaded engagement through respective connectors 43, while having a degree of swinging movement relative-to their respective support members 34 and 35, whereby the rods are extensible and retractable upon rotation thereof to selectively adjust both the position of the panel 30 and the contour thereof. Thus, the panel 30 may be moved toward and away from the path 23 being inclined at a selected angle with respect to the path, and may also be flexed to radiate a desired pattern of heat toward the path. The concave flexure of panel 30, facing in the direction toward path 23 as seen in FIGS. 1- 4, is selectively adjustable, say to a generally flat planar configuration, shown in phantom in FIG. 2. Ofcourse, the panel is adjustable to any intermediate condition of flexure, and also to any desired condition of convex curvature. A combination of panel contours is shown in phantom in FIG. 3, wherein the panel is warped to achieve a compound curvature affording a desired pattern of radiation. In particular, the uniformity of heat distributed by a burner 25 may not be readily adjusted, except by the most complex and expensive valving arrangements. However, radiation from the panel 30 to the path of material 17 may be substantially uniform by adjustment of the panel to concentrate or distribute heat as desired.

The panels 32 and 33 are similarly mounted by elongate extensile and retractile mounting members or rods 45, each extending from an articular connection 46 with the back of a respective panel to a support, which may be the cabinet side wall 13. By this arrangement, the mounting members 45 may extend through suitable connection elements 47 carried by the cabinet wall 13, and terminate exteriorly of the cabinet for convenient selective adjustment.

The panels 30, 3!, 32 and 33 may all be substantially identical, so that a detailed description of one will suffice. As best seen in FIG. 4, the panel 30 includes the mat 40 affixed to the forward face of backing member or sheet 41. More specifically, the mat 40 is constituted of a plurality of strips 50 of matting material disposed in adjacent facing relation with respect to each other, as will appear presently in greater detail. Each of the strips 50 may be essentially identical, and formed of ceramic fiber, such as aluminum-silicate wool, or other suitable refractory, radiating material. The ceramic matting is formed in batts of nonwoven fibers, the batts generally having the fibers parallel to the opposite faces of the batts. That is, a majority of the fibers generally lie in planes parallel to the opposite faces of the batts. In one satisfactory batt construction, approximately 80 percent of the fibers lie in planes parallel to the faces of the batt, the remainder of the fibers extending normal to the batt faces. Further, roughly one-half of the batt fibers parallel to the batt faces extend generally normal to the other half of the batt fibers lying parallel to the batt faces. In particular, approximately 40 percent of the fibers extend longitudinally of the batt parallel to the batt faces, and roughly an equal percentage of batt fibers extend transversely or normal to the longitudinal dimension of the batt, parallel to the batt faces.

Such a batt construction, wherein the batt fibers extend generally parallel to the batt faces, may be employed to form the matting strips 50 of mat 40.

For example, as best seen in in FIG. 4, each matting strip 50 has one longitudinal face 51 facing upwardly in the figure, the other face being obscured. It is also there seen that each face 51 exposes matting fibers extending in directions normal to each other and lying in planes parallel to the face of the matting strip. The end face 52 of each matting strip 50 exposes matting fibers extending generally normal to the backing member 4], while the exposed edge 53 of each matting strip 50 presents fibers extending longitudinally of the respective strip, generally parallel to the backing sheet 41. Of course, the illustration of FIG. 4 is simplified, the matting strip faces 51 and the matting strip ends 52 and edges 53 only presenting those fibers which predominate, and not showing those fibers of lesser number which extend generally normal to the faces 51 and the illustrated fibers.

While any suitable means may be employed to secure the matting strips 50 in position on the backing sheet 41, or in their face-to-face relation with each other in the absence of a backing strip, one form of securement means is shown at 39, being elongate tie members, rods or wires extending through the several matting strips 50 generally normal to the strip faces 51, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The strip fasteners or tie means 39 may extend about the back side of the backing member 41, see FIG. 2, and may be provided with intermediate members or clips, as'at 54, retaining the batting strips 50 against the backing member to assume the contour thereof. As the tendency of themattingmaterial is to flake or separate parallel to the faces 51, it will now be apparent that such separation or flaking is effectively resisted by the disposition 'struction.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. l4, the matting strips 50 extend longitudinally of the mat 40 and its panel 30. However, the matting strips may extend otherwise, say transversely of the panel, as shown in FIG. 5. It will there be apparent that the panel 300 includes a mat 40a which may be secured on a backing sheet 41a. The mat 400 may be composed ofa plurality of strips 50a of matting material of the type described hereinbefore, with the strips disposed in adjacent facing relation. However, the strips 50a are arranged to extend transversely or widthwise of the panel 30a. In this condition, the strip faces 51a are disposed in face-to-face engagement with each other, being secured together by any suitable means (not shown). The strip surfaces 53a presented toward the heat source 25a may have their fibers extending essentially longitudinally of each strip and parallel to the engaging faces 51a of the strips. Similarly, the end surfaces 52a of the matting strips 500 each present fibers extending essentially parallel to the strip faces 51a, and normal to the strip surfaces 53a. Here also, the tendency of such nonwoven fibrous matting to flake or separate is in the direction parallel to the matting faces 510, so that such deterioration is effectively minimized. Of course, any suitable means for securing together the matting strips 50a may be employed, such as elongate tie members extending through the matting strips, adhesive securement to the backing sheet 41a, or other suitable means.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a heating apparatus and radiating panel therefor which fully accomplish their intended objects and are well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture, installation, maintenance and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Heating apparatus for elongate material, comprising conveyor means for moving elongate material along a path, a heat source adjacent to said path, a flexible heat-radiating panel located adjacent to said source for receiving heat from said source and radiating received heat to said path, and mounting means mounting said panel to afford thereto a selected flexure for radiation in a desired pattern, said panel being fabricated of fibrous matting with the fibers disposed generally parallel to the face of the matting and comprising a plurality of strips of matting in face-toface relation with each other, the edges of said strips being generally coplanar and defining a heat receiving and radiating surface, and tie means extending through and securing said strips in their face-to-face relation.

2. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said tie means comprising flexible elongate elements affording relative movement between said facing strips.

3. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with a flexible backingsheet fixed to said secured strips.

4. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said panel being of an elongate configuration and said strips extending longitudinally of said panel.

5. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said panel being of an elongate configuration and said strips extending widthwise of said panel.

6. A heat-receiving and -radiating panel fabricated of fibrous matting with the fibers disposed generally parallel to the face of the matting and comprising a plurality of strips of matting in face-to-face relation with each other, the edges of said strips being generally coplanar and defining a heat receiving and radiating surface, and tie means extending through and securing said stripsin their face-to-face relation.

7. A heat-receiving and -radiating panel according to claim 6, said fibers being of ceramic material, and said strips being in face-to-face engagement with each other. 

1. Heating apparatus for elongate material, comprising conveyor means for moving elongate material along a path, a heat source adjacent to said path, a flexible heat-radiating panel located adjacent to said source for receiving heat from said source and radiating received heat to said path, and mounting means mounting said panel to afford tHereto a selected flexure for radiation in a desired pattern, said panel being fabricated of fibrous matting with the fibers disposed generally parallel to the face of the matting and comprising a plurality of strips of matting in faceto-face relation with each other, the edges of said strips being generally coplanar and defining a heat receiving and radiating surface, and tie means extending through and securing said strips in their face-to-face relation.
 2. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said tie means comprising flexible elongate elements affording relative movement between said facing strips.
 3. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with a flexible backing sheet fixed to said secured strips.
 4. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said panel being of an elongate configuration and said strips extending longitudinally of said panel.
 5. Heating apparatus according to claim 1, said panel being of an elongate configuration and said strips extending widthwise of said panel.
 6. A heat-receiving and -radiating panel fabricated of fibrous matting with the fibers disposed generally parallel to the face of the matting and comprising a plurality of strips of matting in face-to-face relation with each other, the edges of said strips being generally coplanar and defining a heat receiving and radiating surface, and tie means extending through and securing said strips in their face-to-face relation.
 7. A heat-receiving and -radiating panel according to claim 6, said fibers being of ceramic material, and said strips being in face-to-face engagement with each other. 